Kai Althof, Gladstone Gallery, NY, Art Basel 2011
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Art Basel’s owners have agreed to buy a majority stake in Art HK – Hong Kong International Art Fair, effective 1 July 2011. MCH Group, which organizes Art Basel, the world’s largest modern and contemporary art fair, and Art Basel Miami Beach, signed the purchase agreement with Asian Art Fairs Ltd, the Swiss group announced 6 May.
The Basel group will have a 60 percent stake, but the price has not been disclosed.
The mid-term goal, the Basel group says, is to convert the Hong Kong fair to the Swiss brand. The 2012 show will take place under the Art HK name, but the date will be moved up from late May to February, and the name and branding change will take place after that.
The Basel fair is held in June. This year the dates are 11-19 June.
“Since its inception in 2008, Art HK has established itself as the leading art show in Asia,” MCH Group said in its statement announcing the deal. “The strong momentum this provides, combined with the great experience and know-how of both organizations, and the expanding art markets throughout Asia, offer great potential for MCH Group to establish a premier art show in this key region, and expand the reach of its art shows globally.”
Art Basel will hold its 42nd edition this June, while the two others shows are much younger: the Miami show opened in 2002 and the Hong Kong art fair in 2008.
Miami, Florida (GenevaLunch) – Artworks worth some $6 million were confiscated by US federal marshals at Art Basel Miami Beach shortly before the VIP opening Thursday 3 December, to settle an insurance dispute. The paintings, including works by Joan Miro and Edgar Degas, were part of the booth belonging to one of Zurich’s well-known art galleries, Gmurzynska. The art fair told Bloomberg it was the first time artworks have been seized for a court case. By later in the day the two parties said they had settled the dispute and the art would be back on Friday, but no details were provided.
The gallery has been in a dispute with former Wall Street raider Asher Edelman over a painting he loaned the gallery for the 2007 Miami fair, the largest contemporary art show in the US.
